Hanley Ramirez

Hanley Ramirez is regarded as one of the best all around players in baseball by many in the industry and has been compared to Alex Rodriguez. The Marlins, after securing funding for a new stadium, decided to make Ramirez their franchise player awarding him a 6 year deal worth $70 million.

Minor League Career
Haley Ramirez started his career in 2002 in the Red Sox organization and quickly became one of their top prospects. In 2004 at Portland, the Red Sox AA affiliate (which was once a Marlins affiliate), he hit .310 with 25 home runs, 45 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases over 132 games. That kind of success did not go unnoticed, and Ramirez was invited to Boston’s spring training in 2005.

2006: Rookie of the Year
After being traded to the Marlins in a deal that sent Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota to the Red Sox (in exchange for Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Harvey Garcia and Jesus Delgado), Ramirez was given a chance to win a starting spot on the roster.